Trying to Win the Last Peace?

Abstract

During and since the First World War political and military leaders in Britain were often criticised on account of their out ofdate policies or strategies which, it was said, may have been suitable for winning the Crimean War or even the Boer War, but were utterly unsuitable for winning the war of 1914. In the Second World War leadership was rightly accused of pursuing certain military strategies and economic policies that might have been suitable for winning the First World War but were utterly inadequate for winning the Second World War. Similarly, many of the economic policies adopted since 1945 were said to have been suitable for winning the peace of 1919–39 but were utterly unsuitable for winning the peace that followed the Second World War.